The Graduation
by mrseddievedder
Summary: Daniel FINALLY graduates high school, but he notices someone missing in the audience... Multi-chapter
1. The Big Moment

Daniel adjusted his cap and gown and stared at the mirror in the boy's bathroom. This was it. No more would he have to hear people whisper about how stupid he was, or listen to his mother say "Ya know, if you just got a job and dropped outta high school, you would make our lives much easier." He owed it all to Lindsay too, and he knew it.

This was very tough for him to admit it. He had always been the "cool guy", the one who corrected Nick and Ken, the one with the hot girlfriend, the one who smoked pot so much he usually looked like a human chimney, second only to Nick (and probably Jerry Garcia.) Ken would laugh so hard he found out he actually cared about graduating, or if other people talked about him behind his back.

When he saw Lindsay walk through the door to say, "Let's go, guys. You're gonna be late for your own graduation," he felt like hugging her. Without her tutoring every day for three hours, he knew what this day would be like; a depressing homage to the fact he's a total moron.

Kim walked in next with her cap and gown. She looked so beautiful in her graduation gear, like she wasn't scared of anything. He kissed her passionately, and she returned the favor. As it happened, he thought _"Please don't ever let this moment end."_

He knew he loved her. He had known loved her ever since he had broken up with her, and he knew that she loved and needed him as much as he did.

His bubble of happiness burst when Ken walked in and started making kissy faces. Kim broke away, leaving him longing for more. Curse you, Ken.

As he heard the opening bars of Pomp and Circumstance, he ran to the back of the stage in the auditorium. Nick was one of the first people up, so he didn't get a chance to tell him that his fly was up, so he probably wouldn't figure out until… well, let's not talk about that.

He looked out until the beaming faces in the audience. He saw Lindsay's parents, her brother, Sam, and Sam's friend, Neal, who had a not-so-secret crush on Lindsay. He saw Nick's dad, Col. Andopolis, and as he turned his head, he saw the Millers smiling at Ken, grateful that he graduated at all. He even saw Kim's parents, although she looked as she usually did when something involved Kim; angry, annoyed, and not clean (well, she looked like that all the time.)

The three faces in the audience he was missing were the ones that he had hoped the most would be there. His mother, his father, and Joey were not there. He didn't know why he was so upset. His father _was _kinda hard to bring anywhere ever since the accident. Her mother _did_ have a lot of stuff on her mind.

But he was sick of excuses, sick of hearing her complain about how hard she works, and how he should respect her more. This was an important day for him, and they should've been there.

After the graduating class tossed their "diplomas" in the air, he did the only thing he could think of doing.

He ran.


	2. The Disapointment

Daniel ran, ran, ran until his body felt like it was going to explode. He had finally reached his house, and all rational thought left his mind. He wasn't thinking about the reasoning of any of the reasons his mother and father come to their youngest son's graduation day, possibly the most important day of his entire sorry existence. He just burst into his house, to see his mother absent-mindedly cooking dinner.

"Oh hi, Daniel. Do you mind picking up some dinner in about thirty minutes?" She said it like it was just an ordinary Friday, not even bothering to look up and see that his son was wearing a cap and gown. "How dare you!" he spat out, all the hate and fury he was feeling bubbling over.

She looked up, looking confused. As soon as he saw his outfit, her look changed from confusion, to shock, and then she looked kind of… blank. 'Oh, that. Sorry, Daniel. I couldn't make to your graduation. Your dad couldn't be left alone, and Joey had to work."

If Daniel was angry before, that was nothing compared to how he was feeling now. Not only had his mother known it was his graduation, she didn't even seem to CARE. "You know how hard I worked and studied for this! You know how much this meant to me! I've been trying for so long!"

Once again, she looked at him dismissively. "Sorry, Daniel. In my defense, however, you should've graduated three years ago. This wasn't _really_ as special as most parents' kid's graduation is. Joey graduated on time, and I was only able to come for a little while."

Daniel was at a total loss for words. He just exploded. Angry tears fell down his face. "THIS ISN'T ABOUT JOEY, OR DAD, OR ANYONE ELSE! THIS WAS ABOUT ME! I JUST ASK FOR ONE DAY WHERE THINGS FOCUS ON _ME_! IS THAT TOO MUCH TO GODDAMN ASK FOR!"

It was Mrs. Desario's turn to get angry now. "You will not curse at me in my own home! My life is hard, and I deserve respect!" "WHAT ABOUT ME? DON'T I DESERVE RESPECT?" he screeched. With that, he grabbed his things and ran out of the house, furious that his own family didn't give a crap about him.

He went to go meet his friends at Lindz house, where they were having a party. They greeted him with warm smiles. Unbelievable. His smart ass friends cared more about him than his own flesh and blood.

Kim said, "Hey, I'll give you a graduation gift after the party. After all, this is a _celebration_. One time only offer, take it or leave it." she whispered in his ear. "Forget it, Kim; I'm not in the mood." "Aren't you supposed to say that after we've been married 15 years and have three kids?" she asked, trying to flirt with him. His left over anger at the world lingered with his annoyance at Kim. Mrs. Weir came up to Lindsay and gave her a big bear hug. He wished, just for the smallest moment, that someone would give him a huge bear hug, and make everything okay.

"Kim, could I stay over at your house, 'til I find enough money to find a palace to stay?" Kim looked pretty understanding, but all hope he had failed when she said, "I would, but have you met my mother, Daniel/ You know what she would say," Kim did a wicked, yet terribly accurate imitation of her mother. "Kim, don't bring your hormone-full male friends to my house, so you could find a place to have sex, because you can't afford a trampy hotel room."

He knew that it was a long shot, but he still felt defeated as he looked for Nick, seeing him in the girlfriend with his girlfriend for a year, Lindsay. They were kissing, and they had just broken away when he went to ask Nick the question. Nick greeted the question with a sad look. "Sorry, man. My dad's been on a war path ever since he found a grow light in my closet." Lindsay's voice popped up. "You could always stay at my house. I'll ask my dad after the party. I'll call you later, kay?"

He smiled in relief. He was glad he had that one stable friend, with nice parents, good grades, and a nice house. He also wished, for one teeny, tiny millisecond, he could be that friend that everyone could depend on. But since he was never going to be that friend, he swallowed his pride and accepted the fact that he would never be stable.

**Whaddaya think, members of Fan Fiction? I happen to LOVE this part, but if you disagree, post your comments.**

**WARNING- THIS IS NOT A DANIEL AND LINDSAY FIC! I AM A DANIEL+KIM PERSON FOREVER! IF YOU DISAGREE, POST YOUR COMMENTS **


	3. The Memories

Daniel felt out of place at the happy gathering of Lindsay's graduation party. Everyone seemed blissfully excited; even Ken, king of the deadpan, looked sort of pleased with himself. After the fight with his mother, Daniel had a haunting thought in his mind; what was he going to with his life now? He was sure that his mother would have no business supporting him after her graduated high school. She was practically counting down the days until he would be gone. He'd have to find a job that involved little-to-no intellectual skill. Great. Another chance for everybody to think he was a total loser who could barely graduate high school and now having trouble get through life.

He had been too busy pondering the future, (something he rarely did), that he didn't notice that Sam Weir had come up to him. Daniel had started hanging out with Sam and his two geeky friends, Neal and Bill, when he was a junior. He first decided to hang out with them to make fun of them, but it turned out they were a lot of fun to hang with. Playing Dungeons and Dragons was a better way to spend a Friday night then getting stoned with Nick.

"What is it, Sam?" he asked. He must've snapped at him, because he looked taken aback. "I was wondering if you would still play Dungeons and Dragons with us, even though you just graduated." He said it in a half question, half statement kind of way, as if he was afraid that to hear the answer. Daniel smiled and said, "Sure. You can count on Carlos the Dwarf being there." Even though he said these happy words, he was thinking, "_If I'm not to busy trying to find food out of a garbage can, sure I'll play with you." _

Daniel was thinking these grim thoughts as Lindsay saw her Dad near the refreshment table. He was chatting it up with Nick's father. They were making jokes about Nick and Lindsay's future wedding, and how neither of them wanted to pay for it. Lindsay hated these kinds of conversations. It made her feel like everyone was betting on her and Nick's relationship. Lindsay loved Nick, she knew she did, but she didn't like people being so invested in their relationship.

She knew her Dad would not be happy about his young daughter living with a very good-looking young man. "_Daniel's too hot for my Dad to hate him," _she thought guiltily. She knew that she shouldn't be thinking about the hotness of her best friend's long time boyfriend. She had Kim rant hundreds about either her love o hatred of Daniel, and she was sick of hearing it.

"Hey, Dad. I need your help." Mr. Weir turned after hearing his daughter's voice. "What do you need?" he said, his jolly expression suddenly turning serious. "Can Daniel stay at our house for a while? He's having a tough time with his mom, and he has no place to stay." Mr. Weir rolled his eyes. "Do all of your friends have parents they hate? We should call Social Services!" Lindsay breathed a sigh of relief. She knew her father was just joking. She knew she had him in the palm of her hand, considering this was her "big day."

After the party, all the freaks and geeks went out to the local diner to celebrate their big day. It was a good thing. Daniel needed some hot food and good times to forget about how much he hated his life. As they stumbled in to the restaurant, it was practically deserted, so they got to pick where they sat. It was a bittersweet moment, as they remembered all the things they had done in they've had here and places like it. They remembered all the good times they had had together: traveling in a VW Microbus with the Deadheads, lining up to go see Return of the Jedi, playing basketball, going to go see R.E.M. in concert (before they got famous), making fun of Ken dating the band geek, Amy, bailing Daniel out of jail for bunching a bouncer, and watching Bill go on his first date. (With Vicky Appleby!) It was all coming down on them now, realizing that their high school lives were over, and their new lives had begun.

As they were all reveling in their pasts, someone walked into the restaurant. It was Daniel's brother, Joey. None of the freaks nor geeks had met Joey, except Kim. It was only once, and Joey was _extremely_ drunk. HE walked up to Daniel and said, "You got to come home, man. Mom's having a conniption-fit. She keeps yelling about how you don't appreciate her or all she does for you. Please come home, man." Daniel had just about had enough at being told this kind of stuff, so he just lost it. He started out icy quiet, and soon it got fiery loud.

"You can tell mom that I've had enough of her telling me that I don't appreciate her. Yeah, she gives me disgusting food, a lumpy bed, and a leaky roof to live under. However, has she giving me a tiny bit of attention? No, she hasn't, and she knows it. So, you can tell Mom that I'm sick everyone treating me like I'm an inconvenience. Got it?" he snarled the last two words, slammed some dollar bills on the table, and left. One by one, every freak and geek followed him out, like soldiers following a general.


	4. The Shock

**Okay, so this Chapter three! Enjoy, and remember, this is NOT a Daniel Lindsay fic. It may appear to be, but its not. Enjoy. Remember, reviews=happy author=more chapters! **

Turns out, Joey wasn't just there to there to guilt Daniel into coming home. He had brought some of Daniel's things with him, so he wouldn't be living off the clothes on his back. As he dumped his things onto the couch, he saw Lindsay out of the corner of his eye. This is how he knew that Mr. and Mrs. Weir weren't home. No parent in their right mind would let their eighteen year old daughter walk around the house in that outfit with a 21 year old boy there. She was wearing a skimpy tank top and a pair of shorts.

"Sooo…we're all around," said Lindsay, getting closer to Daniel, "let's do something fun." Daniel rarely felt uncomfortable in sexual situations, but he was feeling weird. "I'm guessing you don't mean a board game." He said, while chuckling uncomfortably. His usually cool demeanor had floated away. Before he could catch his breath and tell Lindsay to get away, she kissed him.

Lindsay had expected fireworks as her lips smashed against Daniel's. But, really, that was all it was; her smashing her face against Daniel's. She had fantasized about this moment every time Daniel and Kim had a fight, and it had become especially vivid when she let him move in with her. As she did it, she felt regret? Why the hell did she do this? She didn't love Daniel, not in the slightest. At least, not in a "let's make-out" sort of way. She loved Nick. She felt ashamed, and foolish, as Daniel broke away and started yelling at Lindsay.

"Why would you do this," he screamed, taking his anger out at the world at Lindsay. "You know that I'm dating your best friend. You know I'm in _love _with your best friend. Why would you do this? I can't hurt Kim. Not again. I've hurt her to many goddamn times to let it happen again. I don't want to lose her. I've never thought of you as anything more than a friend. You're more like a sister to me. I can't do this, Lindsay. I just can't."

Lindsay was reeling at the fact that Daniel hadn't jumped on the opportunity. When Lindsay had first became a freak, Daniel would, to quote Kim, 'screw anything that moves.' There were always rumors going around about him: that he had hit on the teachers, that he had tried to sleep with every girl in the school. Daniel had grown up, and it had been hard for her to accept it.

They had been so wrapped up in their own conversation, they didn't notice when Nick, Ken, Amy, and Kim had come. They were going to hang out after the party at the diner, but since that had been interrupted; they were all going to hang out at Lindsay's. They all had shocked looks on their faces, except Kim. Kim looked hurt, like she had slapped in the face.

Daniel looked embarrassed. "How much did you see," he asked sheepishly, not wanting to here the answer. "Oh, I saw enough." She said this while running out the door, crying hysterically. Lindsay immediately felt guilty for the stupid thing she had done.

Nick looked her in the eye, and said, clear-eyed and dead serious, "Did you kiss Daniel, or did Daniel kiss you?" Lindsay also burst into tears. "I'm sorry, Nick, I'm sorry. I didn't mean it, and it was stupid. I'm sorry. Please don't break up with me." She had already been dumped by Nick once, and she hated it. She didn't want it to happen again.

Nick looked at her. He looked sad. He didn't want to break up with Lindsay, what was he supposed to do? When your girlfriend cheats on you for one of your best friends, it's not a good situation. Lindsay was crying and pleading with him now, which made it excruciatingly painful to tell her that they were over. He just walked away, into the living room, where Kim was having a conniption fit.

"FUCK you, Daniel! Get away from me!" she screamed. Her voice was reaching the register of Janet Leigh from Psycho. "I don't want to have anything to do with you! Just fuck off!" Daniel tried to say something, Kim responded by screaming insults and obscenities with all her might. "You cheated on me for my best friend and you expect me to be _okay _with this? I'm not Daniel. I'm not fucking okay! Just get away from me! I hate you!" With that, she left the house with flourish, slamming the door behind her.

Daniel just stood there, quivering. It was not supposed end up like this. He _loved_ Kim, and now she was gone. Moments like this made him wonder why they stayed with each other. _"Because I need her,"_ he thought, _"I need her more than I've ever needed anyone else. Maybe she doesn't need me." _Daniel was on the verge a tears, so he left, after giving Lindsay a look so mean that it should've had an R rating.

Nick had left after the ringing out of "Fuck you", so Lindsay was all alone. Your graduation is supposed to be the happiest day of your life, yet it Lindsay without a boyfriend, her best friend, and feeling more alone than she's ever felt. She burst into hysterical sobs. Right about this moment, Ken chimed in. "I'm guessing you want privacy right now?"

**Pretty shocking, huh? Don't worry, all ends happily for everyone's favorite burn-outs! Intrigued? Comment! **

**-mrseddievedder**


	5. The Forgiveness

_** Hello, fans of Freaks and Geeks and random fanfiction searchers. This could sort of be classified as song fic, since it is centered on the song Water by the Who. Thanks for the lovely reviews from everyone, especially Kareena and drawingtoaclose. Thank you to Keith Moon, Roger Daltrey, Pete Townshend, and John Entwistle for a) being the best band in history, and b) inspiring me to write this story. R&R, pretty please with sugar on top! Enjoy!**_

It didn't matter that Daniel had no place to stay; he could not stay at the house of the person who just ruined the most important relationship he had ever had. He got into his car, and drove around, looking for a place to stay. This day started out good, then got bad, and ended horrifically. _"What idiot said that graduation is the happiest day of your life?"_ he thought bitterly, a he turned on the car radio. A song he loved came on, _Water_ by the Who. He tried to relax as the music swept over him, with Pete Townshend's twanging guitar and Roger Daltrey's searing vocals.

The reason he loved this song so much was because of the memories behind it. Once, he had thrown a huge party at Ken's house, and he got so hammered he couldn't stand up straight. He had to call Kim from Ken's phone, and ask for her to pick him up. Kim was less than happy, to say the least. He was too drunk argue back, so she just yelled him all the way home. On the way to her house, the song Water came on the radio. Kim started singing along, quietly, as Daniel sang along, loudly. When Daltrey really started to belt out, they were at her house, with Daniel fast asleep in the back seat. She tried to lift him out, but he was too heavy. So she decided to just curl up next to him, the usually angry couple sleeping like two puppies on a rug. When he woke up, he was supremely hung-over, but happy to feel Kim's body against him. The one part that made it all worth-while however, is when she said, "I love you, Daniel "Daltrey" Desario, even though you're a pain in the ass. Now get off my hair."

While Daniel was reminiscing about the good ol' days, (jeez, he was twenty-one years old and he had _glory days_? Pathetic,) and driving around town aimlessly, Lindsay had since fell asleep, woke up, got dressed, grab her signature green army jacket, and raced to Kim's house. She had to make things right, or she would never forgive herself. She had left in such a hurry that she had forgotten that she was wearing bunny slippers. Blushing as she realized her mistake, she rang the doorbell.

An angry-looking (what else is new?) Mrs. Kelly answered the door. "What do you want, Linda? Kim's really upset for some reason or another, so she might not want to talk." "I really need to talk to her. Tell it's about Daniel." Lindsay pleaded. Mrs. Kelly yelled "KIM! YOUR FRIEND LINDA'S HERE!" "WHO?" the blonde burn-out yelled from the other room, "YOU MEAN LINDSAY?" "WHATEVER, JUST COME HERE!" Kim's mother screeched angrily. Kim walked to the doorway. She had looked like she had been crying all night. Her eye make-up had run down her face: her hair was a mess; she was wearing the same clothes she was wearing yesterday. Basically she looked like crap.

She tried to smile, but failed miserably. "Hey, Linds. What's up?" Hey, Kim. Can I talk to you for a sec?" "Sure." The two best friends rushed to Kim's room, a place where she had visited very few times, since Kim didn't like her house, her family, and ESPICIALLY hated her mother. "So, what's going on?" she asked. She was clearly eager to talk about someone's life other than hers.

"I need to talk to you about Daniel.

Kim shifted around uncomfortably. "What about that dirt bag?"

"You should take him back." Lindsay said assertively

"No I shouldn't."

"Yes you should."

"No I shouldn't."

"Yes you should."

"No I shouldn't."

"Yes you should."

"Why should I? He cheated on me. Again. This is the last straw. I'm dome with dealing with him. I'm better off without him, I promise." She said this while blinking back tears. Kim would be totally lost without Daniel, and everyone knew it, even Kim. Lindsay took a deep breath, and told Kim what had been o her mind all day.

"Kim, if you let him go, you'll be making a huge mistake. You guys are meant to be together; everyone knows it. When we kissed, I felt nothing. It was practically like kissing my brother. Plus," she hesitated, knowing this would be the hardest part to get out, then wimped out, "I think Daniel would be totally lost without you."

Kim looked at her with a "I-don't-want-to-listen-to-you" sort of look. "Thanks, but I really don't need your advice. I think I can handle it myself." She said, suddenly getting very defensive. Who was Lindsay to tell her what to do? She could perfectly handle her own life.

"Ok, just saying, Daniel is a great guy, and it would be a mistake to let him go." With that, she got up off of her filthy floor, grabbed her green coat, and left. Kim got up off her floor as well, and went to go find someone she severely needed to talk to.

As Kim went to go find someone, Lindsay was doing, in essence, the same thing. She knocked on the door of Nick's house, and he answered the door. The six-foot tall boy didn't look happy to see her as she stood on the tips of her toes and kissed. When she kissed him, she felt the exact opposite of the first time she ever kissed him, and the opposite of when she kissed Daniel. Nick readily kissed back. As mad as he was a Lindsay, he had been in love with her since sophomore year, so it was really hard to stay mad at her. Finally, the broke away, just for air, and Nick closed the front door, sensing this was about to be a private moment.

Similarly, Kim was running around town frantically, searching for Daniel. Lindsay had made her realize that she needed to find him. Although Lindsay's reasoning seemed somewhat suspicious, she was right. She finally found Daniel's car in the parking lot of the school. She ran up to him and hugged him. There was a lot of anger and frustration in that hug, and as the Who blasted out on the radio, they stood there, hugging forever, knowing that everything was gonna be okay.

_**Happy ending! YAY! Should I continue? I was thinking of going a little bit more in depth,(and possibly having a F&G wedding!) so if you think I should, comment! Thanks for reading!**_


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